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Taps
Write the first paragraph of your page here. Harold Becker Born September 26, 1928 in New York City, Harold Becker made his fame through filmmaking. His works include movies, documentaries and even commercials, but his best works are his intense films which explore deep into human nature and depict the rough reality of life. Taps ''might not be his best known film, but it has Becker in it all the way to its core. It explores the life of a military high school that gets shut down when “the board” decides to sell the land to a condominium company. The kids have invested their entire lives into their school since youth, and though they might be young and naïve, they know their constitutional rights a little too well. All hell breaks loose when they seize the school and it’s armory in an effort to protest. Becker walks a fine line with ''Taps between far, and too far, as the boys defend their rights and beliefs. One of Becker’s strengths is accurately depicting humans and using his knowledge of human psychology to lay the foundation of his films. Two examples of this are “the sexual intensity of Sea of Love and the political intrigue of City Hall” (Harold Becker Bio). The difference with Taps ''is only that he explores a different aspect of human behavior. He focuses on the difference between civilian and military lifestyles illustrating the pros and cons of each. Taps Overview Taps was inspired by Devery Freeman's novel ''Father Sky . ''Freeman attended a military academy similar to the one created by Becker in ''Taps, ''which explains his motivation to write a novel about the misuse of guns. What's interesting about the making of this film is the undiscovered talent in the cast. Most obvious would be Tom Cruise , who first got noticed by critics when he appeared in ''Taps, ''his second film. Becker actually gave Cruise a more important role when he noticed his potential. Then there is Timothy Hutton , who was the youngest actor to win "Best Supporting Actor Oscar" in 1980, about a year before he starred in ''Taps. Hutton's father was an actor as well which is interesting since his character in Taps is the son of a military father.Sean Penn , The third undiscovered star, started his career on broadway before he appeared in his first film Taps. However, It wasn't until later when he starred in Fast Times at Ridgemont High ''that he got his fame. Becker had a difficult time finding a place to shoot the film. Most of the movie takes place inside Bunker Hill Academy and was filmed in an actual military academy called Valley Forge Military Academy . He chose this school for two different reasons. One was because other military academies didn’t have the walls he needed, but the other was because he was denied by a lot of other schools. More often than not, the school would read the script with its controversial gruesome ending and say no to Becker. In many ways ''Taps ''can be viewed negatively, putting a bad rep on military institutions like West Point, VMI, and Valley Forge. This wasn’t Becker’s goal, but he was denied many times while looking for a place to shoot ''Taps ''until he found Valley Forge. Bibliography Scott, Gabriel. "Veteran Writer Devery Freeman Passes Away at 92." ''Wga.org. N.p., 10 Oct. 2005. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. "Sean Penn Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. "Taps Starring Timothy Hutton, Tom Cruise, and Sean Penn." Pinartarhan.com. N.p., 02 Aug. 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. "Timothy Hutton Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. "Tom Cruise Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.